South Africans in Canada say they are being forced to spend up to $1 500 (about R25 000) just to renew a passport, with some travelling thousands of kilometres across provinces, as frustration over the country’s overseas service system intensifies.
A petition signed by 1 915 South Africans abroad has now prompted the Department of Home Affairs to announce an expansion of its service centres in Canada, after complaints that the current system is “costly and inaccessible” and, in some cases, risks leaving citizens without valid travel documents.
At the heart of the complaints is what petitioners describe as a rigid, single-access model.
“At present, South Africans in Canada are forced into a single-point system: one VFS Global centre in Toronto. No alternatives. No regional access. No mail-in option. No mobile consular services. No digital pathway,” the group said.
The global centre is an outsourced administrative partner used by governments for passport and visa applications, manages document submission, appointments and biometric processing.
They say the system forces citizens into expensive travel arrangements just to complete basic administrative processes.
“A system that effectively denies access to a basic identity document based on geography and cost is not functioning. It is failing,” they said, adding that “silence, in this context, is not neutral. It is a decision.”
Applicants described long-distance travel, high costs and disruption to family life.
Colleen Riphagen said travelling to submit applications is financially draining. “Flying across Canada to hand deliver applications is very expensive and time-consuming. Please allow mail-in applications with certified documents or a Western Canada centre for in-person drop-off,” she said.
Chantal Forman described a renewal trip costing more than $1 500. “I recently just had to travel to Ottawa to get my passport done. It was an 11-hour drive to the Winnipeg airport, then a flight to Ottawa, and I stayed for three days. The total cost was over $1 500,” Forman said.
Chantel Rani said families are being hit hard. “It’s far and costly to travel to other provinces to renew my family's passports… Mail-in passport renewals should be restored via the consulate,” she said.
In response, the Department of Home Affairs says it will expand access with six new service centres.
“The department acknowledges that Canada is geographically vast and that reliance on service centres located in Toronto and Ottawa has, in certain instances, imposed logistical and financial constraints on citizens residing in other provinces,” said Thulani Mavuso, spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs and deputy director-general for operations.
The new centres will be in Edmonton, Vancouver, Regina, Winnipeg, Montreal and Halifax, alongside existing offices in Toronto and Ottawa.
“This expansion is a deliberate and proportionate intervention aimed at addressing the concerns relating to distance, cost of travel, and accessibility,” Mavuso said.
He said the department is also working on broader reforms, including digital services and expanded overseas access.
“The Department wishes to clarify that service delivery models are continuously reviewed and refined based on operational realities, demand patterns, and stakeholder input. The concerns raised by South Africans in Canada have been duly noted and have directly informed this intervention. It is also important to note that the department continues to make rapid progress towards introducing digital application channels for all citizens, as demonstrated by the recent launch of 110 bank branches where Smart ID applications are processed digitally.”
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation had not responded at the time of publication.
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